OREANDA-NEWS. September 07, 2010. Dmitry Medvedev met with representatives of agro-industrial companies of the Central Federal District, had a working meeting with Governor of Voronezh Region Alexei Gordeyev, and visited several of the region’s businesses.

At his meeting with representatives of the agro-industrial complex of the Central Federal District, Dmitry Medvedev emphasised that today’s primary challenges in agriculture are to minimise the losses suffered by the farmers and to help them prepare for the upcoming year.

The abnormally hot summer and drought aggravated many problematic components of the sector. In particular, Mr Medvedev pointed out the need to develop applied agricultural research and to get new breeding materials that are resistant to weather extremes. The President also spoke about agricultural lands improvement, stating the importance of conducting a thorough revision of agricultural lands to re-establish a soil improvement system, which has been practically lost in the previous period.

Participants of the meeting specifically addressed such matters as insurance of agro-industrial businesses, banking loans availability, and the situation on the food market.

The President noted, in particular, that all Russian agricultural producers must have access to markets in regions that are major food consumers, and announced the removal of the embargo on the grains export once the harvest prospects are clear.

Earlier in the day, President Medvedev visited Logus-Agro agro-industrial company, the Voronezhsky Flour Mill, and Bread Factory No 1. Dmitry Medvedev also stopped by one of the city’s grocery shops to see the prices for bread and other products.

Mr Medvedev’s trip included a meeting with Governor of Voronezh Region Alexei Gordeyev who briefed the President on the socioeconomic situation in the region. The main items on the agenda were overcoming the effects of the drought and development of agriculture and electronic municipal government services in the region.

At the end of his trip, Dmitry Medvedev visited Voronezh Aircraft Manufacturing Plant.

The President intends to continue his monitoring visits to the regions. Earlier, he visited Rostov, Orenburg, and Saratov Regions and held several meetings on agriculture and the food market situation. In the near future, President Medvedev will go on several more trips to different regions to inspect the process of restoring the agro-industrial sector following this summer’s drought and fires.